OUI Subsequent Offenses

If you are charged with an OUI subsequent offense (OUI 2nd; OUI 3rd, etc.), the penalties that you are face are increased substantially from an OUI first offense. Generally, Massachusetts has a lifetime lookback policy, which means that all prior OUI convictions are counted against you in determining the OUI subsequent offense with which you are charged. Therefore, if you had a one conviction in New Hampshire in 2000, another conviction in Massachusetts in 2020, and are charged with OUI again in Massachusetts, you could be charged with OUI 3rd Offense.

One of the main differences between an OUI first and an OUI subsequent offense is that there is no opportunity to obtain a hardship license immediately upon pleading guilty, as is the case for an OUI first offense charge (the only exception to this rule is if the person is charged with OUI 2nd Offense and the first offense was over ten years old, in which case the court may offer the defendant a 24D Disposition in exchange for a guilty plea.) For example, the standard license loss for a conviction for an OUI Second Offense charge is two years from the date of the conviction, with a hardship license only available after the first year.

Penalties for OUI Second Offense

• Driver’s license suspension for up to two years
• Requirement to install an ignition interlock device in any vehicle you operate
• Fines of $600 to $10,000
• Jail time from 30 days to 2 1/2 years.

Second Offender Alternative Disposition

Often, it is possible to avoid the possibility of jail time by accepting an alternative sentence from the court that requires:

• Attendance at a 14 day inpatient alcohol or drug treatment facility
• A 26-week mandatory follow-up course,
• License loss of up to three years
• Installation of an ignition interlock device once license is restored
• Two years of probation.

OUI Third Offense

The penalties for a third offense OUI conviction are significantly more severe than for a first or second offense, and there is no “alternative” disposition that affords you the ability to obtain treatment and counseling for substance abuse as an alternative to jail time. A guilty finding requires the judge to impose mandatory jail time of at least 180 days (six months), 150 of which must be served and cannot be “suspended.” Therefore, many of these cases go to trial. As with all OUI subsequent offenses, the defendant is entitled to a bifurcated trial. First, the prosecutor must obtain a conviction for the OUI offense for which the defendant was arrested or summonsed to court. If the prosecutor is successful, then he or she must next prove, in a subsequent trial, that the defendant has two prior convictions, which they are allowed to do by introducing certified court records relating to the convictions.. If there is reasonable doubt about whether the defendant has been convicted on one or both prior occasions, then the prosecutor may only be able to prove a first or second offense OUI conviction, resulting in a substantially less harsh sentence (including the likely avoidance of jail time.)

Attorney Goar has years of experience trying OUI and other subsequent offense OUI cases. He is adept at analyzing records relating to prior OUI offenses and identifying problems with their authenticity or accuracy that could convince the prosecutor to reduce or “break down” the OUI 3rd charge to a lesser charge. If you are charged with this very serious offense, contact Attorney Goar without delay.

Penalties for OUI Third Offense

• Felony conviction and mandatory jail sentence of 180 days with maximum sentence of 2 1/2 years (in district court) and five years (in Superior Court.)
• Fines between $1,000.00 and $15,000.00
• $250 head injury assessment
• $50 victims of drunk driving fee
• 8-year license suspension

Penalties for OUI Fourth and Subsequent Offenses

• Felony conviction and mandatory jail sentence of 180 days with maximum sentence of 2 1/2 years (in district court) and five years (in Superior Court.)
• Fines between $1,000 and $15,000
• Up to a lifetime license suspension
• Limited hardship license opportunities for at least two years following a conviction.
• Required ignition interlock device once license is restored, at your expense.